"Come Get High" (With Utah Paragliding)March 30th, 2009
The glider park in Draper attracts thrill seekers from around the world
by Jacob Hodgen
You know it's going to be a good day when someone offers you the following advice: "Alright, on the count of three, I want you to run as fast as you can towards that cliff."
And so begins my very first paragliding session at the Point of the Mountain in Draper. I am flying tandem with Jonathan Jefferies, the owner of Utah Paragliding. My harness is made up of thick black straps, which wrap around my waist and attach me kangaroo pouch-style in front of my intrepid instructor. Not knowing quite what to expect, we run/are thrown by two assistants off a steep embankment on the side of the mountain. Much to my surprise, the launch is quite graceful; in no time, we begin soaring.
As opposed to hang gliders, where the rider travels in a prone position, a paraglider sits in what feels like a big, cushy swing. Despite the fact that we cruise at 20 miles per hour, the paraglider rigging is extremely comfortable and feels very secure. The glider rides through the air very smoothly, making the experience more about relaxing and less about a quick fix of adrenaline. If skydivers are the shock troops of the extreme sports world, then paragliders are the philosophers, floating contemplatively across the horizon in a perpetual quest for thermals.
Gliding in its various forms has been a Utah tradition since World War II, when the military trained glider pilots to prepare them for combat overseas. The popular gliding location at the Point of the Mountain is officially called the Flight Park Recreation Area and is jointly managed by the Utah Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and the county. It is one of the premier paragliding locations in the world.
Jonathan is an advanced tandem instructor and has logged over 1,000 flights. A BYU graduate, he abandoned his former life as a pharmacy technician and runs his school from his house, which is only a block from the Flight Park. Teaching the sport of paragliding is now a full time job, and he says has trained people from every continent.
The sport of paragliding attracts people of all ages and from all walks of life, and there are an estimated 400 active paraglider and hang gliders in Utah at any given time. The sport brings with it a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else. Jonathan was able to point out people to me by name who were soaring 1,000 feet above us just by the colors of their "wings."
Though you might not think so, paragliding is actually quite safe. Jonathan says that the most dangerous part of the sport is not related to the equipment, which is quite sturdy and reliable, but comes from inexperienced pilots taking unnecessary risks and getting themselves into trouble. "Sometimes people fly too low and smack the ground, or sometimes they fly into each other." The community also constantly watches out for each other. One of the students currently training with him is named L.D., and he experienced first hand how important safety is to the people who fly here. He tells me that one day, on a whim, he bought a hang glider and brought it up to the Flight Park without any prior training. "I had no idea what I was doing. When I tried to put it together, people came over and saw that I didn't have a clue how to fly. Then they kicked me off the mountain!" Now he takes paragliding lessons, and he considers himself, "totally hooked."
I asked Jonathan how the residents of Draper feel about the glider park. He says that most people are on their side. "The County and State have both been very supportive about preserving our flying sites and have invested a lot of money and effort for our cause."
While the vast majority of Utah paragliders are safe and try to be conscious of the rest of us land-locked bipeds, there have been a few trouble makers in Utah's recent past. Local media figure Dell Schanze, best known for his public bouts of caffeine-induced frenzy, is an avid powered paraglider and has caused some controversy for the community as a result of some hazardous practices. Dell got himself into a fair bit by buzzing the freeway in Draper and flying low over some sailboats on the Great Salt Lake. However, he seems to be the exception to the rule.
By the time we find a good thermal and climb our way to fly parallel with the top of the mountain, I realize that I have made a serious rookie mistake. While Jonathan is shielded from the wind by my body in front of him and is dressed very warmly, I am totally unprotected and am dolefully underdressed. It doesn't take long before my face and lips start to go numb from the cold, and it begins to be difficult to continue my aerial interview. Despite the fact that my words are beginning to slur together, I am reluctant to return to earth. It's a good thing that Jonathan is steering; otherwise, I would probably stay up in the air until I froze solid. Hypothermic or not, after today's flight, I am quite confident I would enjoy every second of it.
Tired of just watching the gliders at the Point of the Mountain? Check out Utah Paragliding and take one out for a spin with Jonathan:
